Flim Flammed
by RockSunner
Summary: This is a prequel set in the "Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated" universe. What happened that summer when Fred was at trap camp, and Shaggy and Daphne met Flim-Flam? Shaphne included.
1. All the Ghouls I've Loved

This is a prequel set in the "Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated" universe. What happened that summer when Fred was at trap camp, and Shaggy and Daphne met Flim-Flam? Shaphne included. Disclaimer: The characters belong to Warner Brothers, not me.

**Chapter 1 – All the Ghouls I've Loved**

Daphne called Shaggy with the question, "Well, what shall we do this summer?"

Shaggy said, "Like, I'm not sure. Fred's at trap camp, Velma's at computer camp, and my folks are away on vacation at a still-life competition. I'm home with Scooby. Dullsville, except there's lots of food."

"We could still solve mysteries," Daphne said.

"Like, we'd be totally rotten at it," said Shaggy. "Without Fred for traps and Velma for solving clues, how could we? Even with the two dogs to help, it would never work."

"Two dogs?"

"Yeah, I'm dog-sitting Scooby's little puppy nephew Scrappy-Doo for the summer."

"A puppy! Is he cute?"

"Yeah. A bit annoying, but he grows on you. He can talk, like Scooby, but without the speech impediment. He's, like, Scooby's opposite, no fear at all even when he ought to."

"I have an idea," said Daphne. "Let's just spend the summer on a super vacation, in Hawaii."

"You and me on vacation? Like, alone?" asked Shaggy, his heart racing.

"Don't get any big ideas, Shaggy. You know I only have eyes for Fred. We'll just go as friends."

"Okay, like, that's cool." said Shaggy, hiding his disappointment. "When can we get tickets?"

"I can do better than that," Daphne said. "My parents let me use their private plane, parked at the airport."

"Who's flying? You have a pilot for it?" Shaggy asked.

"It has a totally automatic pilot. You just enter the destination and it takes you there. They've got special waivers on all the regulations... money talks, you know," said Daphne.

"Sure, I'll go. What about Scooby and Scrappy?"

"They can come too, of course."

They parked the Mystery Machine at the Crystal Cove airport. Part-way through the parking lot a brash young kid in a long-sleeved yellow hoodie accosted them.

"Hey guys, Flim-Flam's the name and selling's my game. What can I do you for?" he said.

"Nothing, thanks," said Daphne, trying to move past him.

Flim-Flam opened the small case he was carrying and produced a bottle of clear liquid. "You're traveling on a Friday, and that's bad luck. What you need is a dose of my 'Lotsa Luck Joy Juice', satisfaction guaranteed."

"Like, I don't think so..." said Shaggy.

"I'll give you a free sample, and it's very tasty," Flim-Flam said.

"Tasty?" asked Scooby, licking his lips.

"Let's try it, Uncle Scooby," said Scrappy. "I like this guy, and my puppy instincts are never wrong."

"Rokay," said Scooby.

Scooby drank one bottle, and that broke the ice. Daphne, Shaggy, and Scrappy also tried it.

"Like, I feel a little dizzy, but happy," said Shaggy.

"I feel good," said Scooby.

"Me too," said Daphne. "Now we'll be lucky for the whole trip?"

"Just to be sure, you need to consult my friend Vince," Flim-Flam said. "He knows all, tells all."

"Like, why not?" Shaggy said.

"It's not like we have an official departure time," said Daphne.

They piled back into the Mystery Machine and drove at Flim-Flam's direction to a small bar named 'The Hair of the Werewolf That Bit You'. It looked a bit run-down.

"Vince has an office in a room in the back," said Flim-Flam. He moved ahead of them and called, "Hey Vince, I have some live ones for you."

They found Vince stirring a large cauldron. "Why are you bothering me?"

The man bore a strong resemblance to the famous actor Vincent Van Ghoul, a resemblance he chose to emphasize with his makeup, costume, and manner.

"Vincent Van Ghoul?" asked Shaggy. "Like, I loved you in 'The Castle of Runny Discharge'."

Vince raised his eyebrows and looked at Flim-Flam.

"They've had some 'Lotsa Luck' and they're ready for a full fleecing, er, reading," said Flim-Flam.

Vince nodded. "Yes, I am indeed Vincent Van Ghoul, but you should know that I have studied the occult in preparation for my many horror-movie roles. I am now an expert sorceror."

"Sorceror?" Shaggy gulped. "Like, I believe you."

"You will believe whatever I tell you, is that not correct?"

"I will," said Shaggy. His eyes were looking a bit glazed.

"Me too," said Daphne in a monotone.

"Me three," said Scooby-Doo.

"Me four," said Scrappy.

"You have come to consult me in my lair deep in the Himalayas," said Vince.

"Himalayas? I thought we were going to Hawaii," said Daphne.

"You were, but you got lost," said Vince. "Don't interrupt, and I will tell you more. Your plane has run out of fuel and crashed, and you were taken before the Burgomaster of the town of Ursolvania..."

"Burger Master? I'll order two dozen hamburgers," said Shaggy.

"That's what you said in court, but he didn't think it was funny," said Vince. "You're supposed to leave town tonight before sunset, and I know the reason."

"You do?" asked Shaggy. "A scary reason?"

In the background, in the bar, a singer began to perform "For all the Ghouls I've Loved Before," in a mock-Translyvanian accent.

* * *

><p>Shaggy and the others staggered into his house late that night, carrying a large box decorated with the face of a demon. They had consumed several more bottles of Lotsa Luck and were completely under the spell of Vince's hypnotic tales.<p>

"Like, we've got to capture the thirteen ghosts and get them back into this Chest of Demons," said Shaggy. "Who would've thought our vacation would turn into this? Why us?"

"We let them out," Scooby moaned.

"We'll get those ghosties, don't worry Uncle Scooby," said Scrappy.

"I'm scared, Shaggy," said Daphne. "Would it be all right if I stayed here tonight? My parents think we're in Hawaii, and I don't want to let them know any different until we've cleared this up."

"Like, sure," said Shaggy. "I'll sleep on the couch."

"No... with you..." said Daphne in a whisper. "I don't want to be alone. I was turned into a werewolf today, remember? I still feel some... animal urges."

She clung to him and Shaggy said, "Like, wow, Daphne."

Flim-Flam said, "Hey love-birds, remember I'm here. I'll stay in your best guest room. And don't forget you owe me for all that Lotsa Luck Joy Juice I used to re-fuel your plane to get you back from the Himalayas in double-quick time."

"Of course," said Daphne. "We owe you big time."

"Yes, you do," said Flim-Flam. "This is just the beginning of a beautiful friendship."


	2. The Great Danish Prince

**Chapter 2 – The Great Danish Prince**

Shaggy woke up first. A little groggy, he was startled to see a pretty pair of feet sticking out from under the covers beside his face. Somehow he and Daphne had ended up facing opposite ways. He reached out and tenderly stroked the foot nearest him.

Daphne woke with a start and kicked out, clobbering Shaggy in the jaw. "Oh! Sorry, Shaggy."

Shaggy turned around in the bed and faced her. He rubbed his jaw. "Zoinks, I didn't know that was going to happen."

Daphne said, "My feet are very ticklish. All Blake girls have something funny about their feet. I'm just glad I'm not like my sister Dawn. She has a sixth toe on her left foot; it has to be photoshopped when she models sandals."

Shaggy snuggled up to her and said, "You have beautiful feet. Beautiful all of you. Like, you did something great to your hair, too."

"I had my hairdresser give me a shorter cut for the Hawaiian heat," Daphne said. "Thank you for noticing. Freddie never notices things like that."

"Could we, like, not talk about Fred?" Shaggy asked.

"Okay," said Daphne, giving him a kiss. "No looking back."

They held each other, but before things went any further there was a pounding on the door.

"Hey, wake up! We're got to get on the road and start ghost-hunting!" Flim-Flam said.

Soon they were driving into a nearby forest where Flim-Flam said Van Ghoul had told them to look. Daphne was at the wheel and Shaggy and Scooby were in the back, looking into a crystal ball Flim-Flam had brought along. (He had picked it up cheap from a swami shop which went out of business when the owner was arrested for impersonating the ghost of Elias Kingston. It had a built-in closed-circuit television and projector.)

The device hummed to life and the face of Vince appeared. "You are on the trail of the first escaped ghost, Maldor the Malevolent. Drink more of the Joy Juice for luck, and then I'll tell you all about him."

"Like, how do we find him?" Shaggy asked, after they all drank the juice.

"He will find you. But you must first travel through the forest that he has cursed to the castle of Princess Esmeralda, where the Wonder Wand of Zagraz is hidden."

Flim-Flam smirked. What an imagination Vince had!

* * *

><p>In the end, they captured Maldor, but Daphne was deep in a hypnotic trance.<p>

Vince joined them, disguised with a heavy beard and thick glasses as the wizard Zagraz, the creator if the wand that Maldor was looking for.

"She is in an enchanted sleep," Zagraz told Shaggy. "Only a kiss can wake her."

"Like, I tried that. Also splashing her face with water, and ringing an alarm clock near her ear," said Shaggy. "I've got another idea..."

He got a feather, pulled off her shoes, and started tickling her feet. "Come on, Daphne. I know you're ticklish."

There was no response.

"Only the kiss of a great Danish prince can wake her," said Zagraz.

"Where are we going to find a great Danish prince?" Scrappy asked.

"Me," said Scooby-Doo.

"Yeah, like Scooby's a Great Dane," said Shaggy. "Maybe that's close enough."

"It is," said Zagraz. "Daphne, you will wake when Scooby licks your face."

It worked, and Shaggy embraced her. "Like, I was afraid I lost you forever."

"That'll never happen," said Daphne.

Scooby wandered off with Zagraz to try to wake the Princess Esmeralda, who he imagined under hypnotic suggestion as another talking Great Dane who chased him for a while. Then they headed home.

"One down, twelve to go," said Scrappy.

"Don't remind me," said Shaggy.

"I think we're a great team," said Flim-Flam. "We're going to see this through. I'll stay with you, in your fine home, until we do."


	3. My Shadow Demon

**Chapter 3 – My Shadow Demon**

Flim-Flam and the gang stopped to catch their breath. They had been exploring the caves beneath Crystal Cove, using a useless " Ghost Detector" device purchased from the Crystal Cove Spook Museum gift shop. Under hypnotic suggestion they had encountered a shadow demon with glowing yellow eyes , and they had barely escaped.

"Shaggy, where is the Chest of Demons?" Flim-Flam asked. (He knew – he had hidden it while the others were distracted, for Vince to pick up later.)

"I don't know. I must have, like, dropped it," Shaggy said.

"Maybe the radow remon got it," Scooby said.

"We're going to have to tell Mr. Van Ghoul," said Daphne. She gave Shaggy's hand a squeeze to comfort him.

"He won't be happy," Flim-Flam said. "Who's going to tell him?" He pulled out the closed-circuit TV crystal ball.

After some unhappy back and forth discussion Flim-Flam decided to be the one to give the bad news. TV reception was poor here the cave, but he managed to tune in Vince.

"You're not going to like this," he told Vince. "Don't scream."

"After all my years of dealing with the macabre, nothing could make me scream," Vince said.

"We lost the Chest of Demons!" Shaggy said.

Vince screamed.

"This is terrible," Vince said. "You must get the Chest back by tonight. Tonight the powers of darkness are at their strongest; in fact they are strong enough to destroy the Chest," Vincent said.

"What do we need to do?" Daphne asked.

"Ghosts will be celebrating tonight at Befuddle Manor, at the foot of Bald Mountain. That is where you must go to steal back the Chest, and keep it from them until dawn, when they lose their powers. But I must warn you..."

The reception went out again, and Flim-Flam couldn't get it back.

"Like, what was he going to warn us?" Shaggy asked.

"Never mind. Let's go," Scrappy said. "We'll get into Befuddle Manor and splat those ghosties!"

"I know just how we can get in," said Flim-Flam.

Soon they arrived at a creepy old house, in disguise as exterminators. Flim-Flam let in some mice, and then they rang the doorbell, which was rigged to give an eerie noise.

An old lady answered the door. (She had agreed to let her house be used as "Befuddle Manor" for a small fee). "What do you want?"

"We're exterminators come to take care of your pests," said Daphne.

"What a coincidence. That's just what I need," the old lady said, "Please work quietly and don't disturb my party guests. I have some flying in from all over the world."

Shaggy and Scooby balked at entering the spooky place, but they were persuaded when Flim-Flam suggested they might get lots of great party food.

Flim-Flam whispered to the old lady, "You can go now. I'll take over from here."

He was prepared with a whole scripted adventure, including giant spiders, assorted monsters, shadow demons, mazes, and Queen Morbidia.

* * *

><p>After another "successful capture" Flim-Flam asked, "Say guys, about that plane of yours. We may need to do some long-distance traveling to catch some of these ghosts. How much trouble would there be with passports and customs?"<p>

"None at all," Daphne said. "We have waivers for everything."

"Good to know," said Flim-Flam.

After Shaggy and Daphne retired to their room for the night, Flim-Flam called Vince. "All set for our next big caper. We're taking this show on the road."


	4. Reflections

**Chapter 4 – Reflections**

A few days later a telegram came: "MEET ME MARRAKESH HOTEL MOROCCO – VVG",

"Mmmm," said Shaggy. "A lot of M's. Like, I wonder why he sent a telegram instead of using the crystal ball?"

"Maybe he's having trouble with the reception again," said Flim-Flam. "We'd better get out there and see if he's on the trail of more ghosts."

"I'll make the hotel arrangements while you pack, Shaggy," Daphne said. "My suitcases from the Hawaii trip we never took are in your closet." (They were, all seventeen of them.)

The gang took the Blake private plane and arrived at the Hotel Marrakesh to find the street crowded with oddly-dressed people.

"Welcome Paranormal Convention," Daphne read from the sign on the hotel.

"Like, I don't see a pair of normal guys anywhere around here" Shaggy joked.

"Paranormal means occult," said Flim-Flam. "Which means it's just the sort of place Vincent would be."

"And just the sort of place ghosties would be," said Scrappy. He ran into the hotel to start shaking things up, and had a run-in with the concierge.

"If you don't have reservations you will have to leave," the man said in a haughty French accent.

"Like, I have reservations about this whole trip," said Shaggy.

"We're the Scooby-Doo party from Crystal Cove," said Daphne.

"Ah yes, I have heard mention of you by several of our guests – the most haunted place on earth, and the meddling kids who tracked down the most ghosts? Here is your key, Ms. Doo – room 1313, a single room with king-sized bed, no smoking."

"Room 1313?" asked Scooby. "Isn't that unrucky?"

"That's why it's the last room we have available," said the manager. "Others refused it out of superstition, but it's perfectly good. You will have to wait a little while; the maids are cleaning it."

He handed over the key, which Shaggy put in his pocket.

"There's one really bad thing about the room," he whispered to Daphne. "Like, one bed and no privacy."

"We'll get by," Daphne said. "It's only for a night or two. You, Flim-Flam, and the dogs can share the bed. I'll sleep on blankets on the floor."

"Maybe you and me on blankets on the floor, and hope the others fall fast asleep on the bed," Shaggy said.

"We'll see," said Daphne, giving him a gentle one-armed hug.

They went out to see the convention while they were waiting for their room to be ready. As they pushed through the crowd Flim-Flam picked the room key from Shaggy's pocket and passed it on to Vince, who was there in disguise.

Vince took a trick mirror up to room 1313 to prepare a special-effects surprise. Unfortunately, a couple of maids entered and surprised him. He hid behind the mirror while one maid went into the bathroom and the other started to vacuum the floor. He sneaked up behind the latter, grabbed her, chloroformed her, and dragged her behind the mirror. When the other maid looked out of the bathroom, he turned on the effects of the mirror to produce a ghostly green glow and an eerie laugh. The second maid fled in fear. Vince dragged the other maid away and concealed her in a broom closet. He also took away the mirror so that he could improvise a new time and place to use it.

Back in the crowd, a young man with pointy spike of red hair, Sandy, bumped into Scooby and said, "Aren't you Scooby-Doo, the world famous ghost-chaser? It would just be incredibly decent if I could have your autograph, I must say."

Scooby-Doo obliged with a paw-print. "Hey, I'm a star." He was so carried away he ran into a pole.

"Like, a four-star klutz," said Shaggy.

While Shaggy was distracted Vince slipped the room key back into his pocket.

Scrappy and Flim-Flam headed for a booth where a man was selling a Vaccu-Spook machine. Daphne, Shaggy, and Scooby were heading off in a different direction when Sandy ran up.

"Excuse me, but there's a call for you on one of our crystal balls," he said.

They went to the crystal ball booth of a woman named Selma. "I guess your friend thinks this is a public phone or something," she said.

Vince told them that they had been lured to Marrakesh by a false telegram, sent by an evil spirit, and that they needed the Amulet of Ishkabibble to protect themselves.

"Scoob, I think we better Ishkabibble out of here!" said Shaggy. He and Scooby tried to run, but they upset the display table and crystal balls rolled everywhere, making everyone lose their balance.

As he ran by, Shaggy got sucked into the Vaccu-Spook device that Flim-Flam was trying to bargain for. When the salesman pressed the release button, Scooby was ejected, crashing into more displays. The gang found themselves chased by an angry mob. To avoid the mob, the salesman gave Flim-Flam the device for free.

They rushed back to their room to hide, only to find the angry concierge accusing them of kidnapping Elizabeth, the maid. Since they had a key to the room they were the most logical suspects. Scrappy and Flim-Flam got them out of this, temporarily, by disguising themselves as police officers and marching the others off for questioning.

Outside again, Shaggy asked, "Like, can someone clue me in about what's going on?"

Daphne said, "Mr. Van Ghoul said an evil spirit was after us. That must be who kidnapped the maid."

"I'll get that ghostie! I'll splat 'em!" said Scrappy, punching the air with his tiny fists.

"He also also said there was an amulet that could help us," Daphne said.

"I know where we could get one," said Flim-Flam. "The bazaar down the street!"

"Like, it's bizarre enough right here," said Shaggy, but he followed the others.

They were looking in confusion at the many amulet stands when a bearded man stepped out of the shadows and said, "I have what you're looking for. The Amulet of Ishkabibble."

"What do you want for it," Daphne asked.

"Only your happiness. Read the inscription," said the bearded man, disappearing back into the shadows.

Daphne tried to read it and failed, "It's in some foreign language."

"Look up there on stage," Flim-Flam said. "Some guys want us to perform in a talent show."

Hypnotic suggestion was beginning to work again. The gang went up and performed a song in front of everyone, and Vince pushed the trick mirror up onto the stage.

Sandy and Selma appeared with a net. "There's the mirror we saw moving by itself! It must be possessed, I must say."

They rushed the mirror, which projected a giant monster face, and they disappeared in a puff of special-effects. The Scooby-Doo gang jumped off the stage and hid.

Flim-Flam pulled them back together and said, "We've got to go back to the hotel room and get the Vaccu-Spook, so we can trap the evil spirit before it catches anyone else."

But they didn't actually return to the hotel room for the device, which Flim-Flam never dropped in the room in the first place. The rest of the adventure, including fooling the concierge into thinking it was New Year's Eve, getting trapped in the mirror, getting out with the Amulet, and trapping the Reflector Spector, was all done with hypnotic illusions.

In the end, Sandy and Selma were back with them, confirming their story of the escape from the mirror world, and the maid was back too, recovered from her chloroforming with no memory of what has happened.

That evening, Scooby-Doo received an award as Ghost-Catcher of the Year, given by Vince, who revealed his peddler disguise.

Sandy and Selma had to go. "We're leaving tonight, but I'm grateful for the incredibly decent thing you did by saving us, I must say. The least we can do is let you have our two-room suite in the hotel."

Shaggy grinned and whispered to Daphne, "Privacy tonight after all! How suite it is!"

Later that night, Flim-Flam used the extra privacy himself, when Scooby and Scrappy were asleep, to go help Vince load the plane's cargo bay with illegal drugs and other contraband, their true object in coming to Morocco.

"We'll make a bundle, even though we have to give a share to Sandy and Selma, who didn't do much," said Flim-Flam.

Vince said, "I disagree. Things got quite complicated when the maids walked in on me, but our accomplices helped us get things back on track. They were of great value to us, all of them."


	5. Monstertainment

**Chapter 5 - Monstertainment**

"Scooby, where do you keep the most valuable things in the house?" Flim-Flam asked.

"In the rall safe, why?" said Scooby.

"Because we ought to lock up the Chest of Demons so that the evil ghosts can't get to it and destroy it," Flim-Flam answered.

"Good idea," said Scooby.

A few nights later, Scrappy, Scooby, Shaggy, and Flim-Flam were watching the Late-Night Spine-Tingler Movie marathon.

Daphne came downstairs in her robe. "Shaggy, when are you coming to bed? It's two AM."

"Like, 'The Son of the Bride of the Ghost of Frankenstein' is about to come on," said Shaggy.

"That's my favorite movie," said Scrappy.

"Mine too," said Flim-Flam. "I must have seen it a hundred times."

"All right," Daphne said, "I'll watch it with you. But we're going to need some munchies."

Vince, who had been hiding in the next room, projected a flashy special effect and slipped in with a carton of sodas. "I'll bring the pop."

"Like, I'll make the popcorn," said Shaggy. "Scoob, while I'm doing that could you lock up the Chest of Demons for the night?"

"You got it, Rhaggy," said Scooby.

Scooby took the Chest upstairs, put it into the safe, and set the burglar alarm. Unfortunately he tripped on a toy duck on the way out and set off the security system. He had to dodge a falling weight and robotic arms to get away. He ran back downstairs and hid under the pillows on the sofa.

"Did you set the alarm?" Daphne asked.

"Sure thing," Scooby said, trembling.

In the kitchen Shaggy filled the microwave with six pounds of popcorn and set it to cook at a million degrees for six minutes. He returned to the living room.

Under the hypnotic influence of Vince, and soda pops spiked with Lotsa Luck Joy Juice, they saw a strange red-skinned show host they had never seen before.

"Shaggy, is the popcorn ready yet?" Daphne asked.

"Like, it should be ready any minute now." When Shaggy opened the kitchen door a wave of popcorn flooded into the room.

Shaggy sat down and tasted some. "Hmm, needs butter and salt."

The situation got weirder when the announcer said she was putting on a special presentation for Scooby-Doo and his friends.

"How does she know we're watching?" asked Vince.

The hypnotic disconnection from reality increased and the gang imagined themselves pulled into the television by a magical force.

They found themselves in a black-and-white world, in a creepy cemetery watching Dr. Frankenstein and his assistant Egad being chased by a mob.

"Zoinks! We've been pulled into the movie," Shaggy said.

"We've been trapped by Zomba, who is one of the thirteen ghosts from the Chest," said Vince.

"What do we do?" asked Daphne.

"Flim-Flam and I will use the crystal ball to try to re-establish contact with the real world," said Vince. "The rest of you play along with the movie, take on roles if they are offered, and try to blend in."

Soon Scooby and Scrappy found themselves in the roles of Dr. Frankenstein and Egad, respectively.

Meanwhile, Vince and Flim-Flam moved away from the others and went upstairs.

"You're sure you know how to disconnect the security system?" Vince asked.

"Piece of cake," said Flim-Flam, "Scooby showed me. It's simple, as long as you don't step on the toy duck."

They took out the Chest of Demons, and then emptied the jewelry boxes inside the safe. They put the empty boxes back in the same position they were before.

"Morocco got a little too complicated," said Vince. "It's good to get back to a nice simple crime here at home."

They returned to the "movie" and that drama played out until the capture of Zomba. The gang returned to the real world (that is, came mostly out of the hypnotic trance) just as the movie was ending on the TV.

Vince had one more surprise illusion for the gang – in the kitchen they saw the Franken-Scoob monster munching on popcorn.

"Franken-Scooby Snacks," the monster said.

"That's my boy, Franken-Scooby-Doo!" Scooby said. He and the monster howled together.

Vince sent the monster on its way "back to the movie world" and everyone retired for the night. It had been another successful day for the ghost catchers (and another profitable day for the confidence tricksters), so everyone was satisfied.


	6. Ship of Ghouls

**Chapter 6 – Ship of Ghouls**

Flim-Flam called Vince when the others weren't around. "Hey Vince, we have a problem."

"What is it?" Vince asked.

"Scooby's a nervous wreck. He's seen one ghost too many and the others want to take him on a long ocean cruise to calm him down," said Flim-Flam.

"What? When they think the fate of the world's at stake?" asked Vince.

"Scooby's so bad off he'd be useless on another mission, so they think they have to do this," said Flim-Flam.

"We can't allow it," said Vince. "It'll throw off our time-table. We have a limited time to get the most we can from these suckers."

"We have to work it in, somehow," said Flim-Flam.

"I know a travel agency with the owner on vacation, and a guy I can get to pretend to staff it temporarily," said Vince. "We can book them on a fake cruise and pocket their payment."

"I've seen an old ship in the harbor that's due to be scrapped soon," said Flim-Flam. "With a little hypnosis that could be our cruise ship."

"A ruined ship – that gives me an idea. Their trip has to be cut short to get us back on the time-line, so why not gradually reveal it as a ghost ship? The passengers can all be ghosts, too," said Vince.

"But how could a travel agency book a ghost ship?" asked Flim-Flam.

"No problem. We'll make it that the travel agent was actually a ghost in disguise," said Vince.

"That barely makes sense," said Flim-Flam.

"Since when have any of our adventures for them made sense? A Burgomaster in the Himalayas, an enchanted sleeping dog princess, an ordinary man creating a shadow demon, and so on. Only the Joy Juice has let us put these plots across. Make sure they keep drinking it."

"What about Scooby-Doo? In his condition that much horror will wipe him out," said Flim-Flam.

"Remember, the Joy Juice makes him very susceptible to hypnotic suggestion," said Vince. "You can tell him to remain relaxed and calm no matter what happens."

"All right, sounds like a plan," said Flim-Flam.

"We'll make it their scariest adventure yet," said Vince. "And just so they don't take another vacation after that one, I'll throw in the Chest of Demons opening and all the ghosts nearly getting free. That will bring their sense of duty."

"Let's do it."


	7. Spooky Little Ghoul

**Chapter 7 – Spooky Little Ghoul**

The group returned from their disrupted vacation feeling disheartened. Their cruise had turned into a nightmarish trap. It seemed like they had never been so close to total defeat, with the Chest of Demons opened, all the captured spirits combined into one monstrous demon ready to devour them, on a ship full of zombies and ghosts headed into the void of the Bermuda triangle. Only a stage-magic trick by Scooby, made temporarily fearless under hypnosis, had saved their bacon and recaptured the demons. And then the whole ship vanished out from under them and they had to paddle to shore in a duck-shaped life-raft.

"When that ghost ship vanished we lost all our luggage," said Daphne. "And all my clothes!"

"I know a place where you can get replacements for everything at one affordable price," said Flim-Flam. (Since he had all of the luggage hidden away, it was an easy offer to make.)

"I was looking forward to a nice quiet cruise. Like, we even had a double stateroom with our own bedroom this time," Shaggy said.

"But did you see how icky and moldy everything was, once we saw the ghost ship for what it really was?" Daphne asked. "I'm glad we didn't sleep there. In fact, I need a shower."

"Like, you want to save water? Shower with a friend?" Shaggy asked.

"You rhower now, Rhaggy?" Scooby asked.

"Sure, with the incentive of good company," said Shaggy.

Daphne smiled. "All right. We both could use the shower and I could use some comforting."

Vince said, "About that lost vacation, I can offer a small trip to make up for it. It happens that I've just been elected Warlock of the Year, and I'm going to the convention in New Orleans. You are welcome to come along."

"Oh boy! New Orleans!" said Scrappy. "And we're just in time for Mardi Gras."

"Congratulations, Vince," said Flim-Flam. "You deserve the honor as the most powerful warlock in the world."

A few days later they flew to New Orleans, to stay at the Wart and Warlock Hotel, which specialized in hosting small conventions. Vince had booked a "Warlock of the Year" convention, which the hotel thought was a typical gamers convention, and had hired a group of extras to be "warlocks" and a beautiful actress to play the role of Nicara, the demon seductress.

Special effects and hypnosis played their parts, and so did Vince acting as if he wanted to marry Nicara. The gang witnessed the capture of Nicara and her ghost army under hypnotic suggestion as usual.

Later, Vince told Flim-Flam, "That ought to establish me in their minds as a world-class sorceror, even more than they already believed."

"We didn't come here just for that, did we?" Flim-Flam said.

"This was more than an ego trip," said Vince. "We're transporting stolen goods in the plane, taking advantage of the rules waivers like we did in Morocco. It covers our expenses many times over."

"We still have a problem," said Flim-Flam.

"What's that?" asked Vince.

"Scooby's still balking," said Flim-Flam. "He's not over his meltdown where he needed a vacation, and then we gave him that huge scare of a cruise. We need something special to convince him to stay on the case."

"I have just the thing for him," Vince said. "Leave it to me."


	8. Time Slime

**Chapter 8 – Time Slime**

The gang was in Cukoosberg, deep in the Swiss Alps, where Vince had told them to search for the next ghost, Time Slime. Thanks to hypnotic suggestion they remembered Scooby saving them from a car crash with quick steering and a rubber duck floatation device.

"Welcome to Cukoosberg. We'll clean your clock in no time," Flim-Flam read from a sign.

"Look at what's happening to the sun," said Daphne. It seemed to them to be racing around the sky, switching from day to night and back in a matter of seconds.

"Time Slime is speeding up time to the day he can conquer the world," said Vince from the crystal ball. "If he succeeds it will be the end of life as we know it."

What happened next would be done by hypnotic illusions. The face of a grandfather clock changed to the masked face of Time Slime, and they were dumped by trapdoor down into his lair.

"Your time is up. Give me the Chest of Demons!" Time Slime demanded. He came close to them menacingly, and then they had the illusion of being pulled away by magic to join Vince, all but Scooby who had a series of hypnotic regressions, first to babyhood, then to his more recent adventures. He emerged from the experience holding a prop Time Scepter, and with a strong post-hypnotic suggestion that he had to give up ghost-chasing for good.

"I quit!" he told the others.

Daphne and Shaggy were shocked. "You can't quit! Like, how are we going to save the world without you, Scoob?"

"I know," said Flim-Flam. "We'll advertise for a replacement ghost-catching dog."

While Scooby imagined himself retired, back in his parent's home, the others experienced the illusion of working through a group of applicants, rejecting the overwhelming Bonecrusher Bigelow and finally settling on the lazy and stupid Bernie Gumshire. Working with Gumshire eventually got them trapped by Time Slime, about to be struck by a knight's mace when the clock struck two, and with Time Slime about to open the Chest of Demons.

At this point, Vince deepened the trance on Shaggy and Daphne so they wouldn't notice the passage of time and went back to working with Scooby.

"Scooby, there's something I want to show you," said Vince. "The future!"

Scooby had the illusion of moving through time as Vince told him, "After you quit the gang, the Chest of Demons fell into Time Slime's hands. All the ghosts were freed and they divided up the world into different realms of control. I'm going to show you what's like in Time Slime's realm."

The illusion revealed a ruined landscape. Scrappy and Flim-Flam entered the scene as young future motorcycle delinquents who served Time Slime.

"I had an Uncle Scooby once. I thought he was a hero, but he abandoned us," Scrappy said. "I have a new hero now. Time Slime!"

Next, Vince showed Scooby the illusion of Daphne as a prematurely aged, broken down woman. She was scrubbing the floor in Time Slime's lair.

"Daphne, you work for Time Slime?" Scooby asked.

"I serve Time Slime in all the ways a slave woman can serve her master," Daphne told him. "At first I hated it, but Stockholm Syndrome is real and now I love being his slave. So will you. Time Slime. Slime! Slime!"

Vince took him from there and showed him the most chilling vision of all: Shaggy as a crazed old man, completely bananas.

"Bananas, bananas! I've got bananas, lots of bananas," Shaggy chanted, pulling bananas from every pocket.

Scooby tried to get his old friend to recognize him, but it was no use. Shaggy was too deep in his own madness.

When Time Slime showed up to capture them, Scooby had had enough. "Please, Mr. Ran Rhoul, can't you do something?"

Vince said, "Maybe, if I take you back in time to the moment before Time Slime opened the Chest."

That is just what they did, and the illusion finished with Scooby rescuing the others and trapping Time Slime.

"I'm glad you're back, Scoob," Shaggy said. "Who knows what would have happened if you didn't rescue us when you did."

"I know," Scooby said softly.

The gang returned to Crystal Cove in their plane, happy to be reunited. Vince and Flim-Flam were also happy, having restored Scooby's motivation (as well getting in a good load of duty-free smuggling).

"Now things are back on track," Vince told Flim-Flam. "Good work on your acting in that future scene. It was highly convincing."

"Acting is what I do best," Flim-Flam said.


	9. Witches of the Night

**Chapter 9 – Witches of the Night**

The gang was eating dinner in a small house rented by Vince, which his hypnosis caused them to see as a spooky palatial mansion. Dinner was interrupted when his television crystal ball turned on and displayed a pre-recorded show of three witches trying to get their broomsticks to fly.

"This is my device for tracking the spirit world," Vince told the gang. "But I've seen those three before – the Brewsky sisters are harmless and incompetent."

"Then they're not, like, from the Chest of Demons?" Shaggy asked.

"Certainly not. However, that strange green mist pushing towards them through the woods is," said Vince.

"Like, mind if I change the channel?" said Shaggy, reaching for the knobs on the set.

"No, Shaggy. We have to see what that spirit is up to," said Daphne. They continued to watch the show.

The spirit, Marcella, gave the witches a spell book and instructed them to meet her at midnight at Stonehenge. "If you perform spell thirteen there, the four of us will become the most powerful witches in the world!"

The spirit moved away and the Brewsky sisters performed a victory dance, "We are witches of the night. We're so hot we're out of sight! Sssss! Cooking!" Then they chanted a tune and danced Egyptian style: "Nah-nah nah nah nah, na na nah nah nah-nah nah."

"They're going to be the most powerful witches in the world?" Daphne asked.

"We're doomed!" Shaggy said.

"What do we do?" asked Daphne.

"You get that spell-book away from them before they can use it," said Vince.

"Will you be coming with us, Mr. V?" Shaggy asked.

"No, I will not," said Vince.

"Like we're not into witches either, Sir. We'll stay here with you," said Shaggy.

"Reah, with you!" Scooby said.

This annoyed Vince since he had calls to make to keep a smuggling operation going and he didn't need tag-alongs.

"As you wish," Vince said. "I am going to the Zone of Eternal Evil where the darkest spirits are trapped, to hunt down that demon mist."

"Like, on second thought, send us a postcard," said Shaggy with a nervous laugh. "So long!"

"Good luck with the mist, Mr. V," said Scrappy.

As soon as they were gone Vince got on the phone to finish the arrangements for his international smuggling plan.

The gang arrived at the home of the Brewsky Sisters (who were actually actresses hired by Vince), Flim-Flam persuaded Shaggy and Scooby to dress up as "crazy" encyclopedia salesmen.

Shaggy and Scooby were let in, and they went into their fast-talk routine about being such crazy salesmen they were giving away their products for free, and they could sell "absolutely anything."

"Ooh, ooh," said the plump blonde witch. "Do you have golden cobra rattles and Paris sewer water?"

"Yes! It's all in the twenty-volume Encyclopedia Scoobytanica," said Shaggy. He and Scooby pushed in and started unloading the volumes onto a bookshelf.

"We don't want books, we want real cobra rattles and Paris sewer water," said the tall dark witch.

Flim-Flam and Scrappy burst in as more salesmen, offering toilette water and spraying clouds of it around. While the witches were distracted Scooby was able to substitute one of the encyclopedia books for the spell book,

They were running for the Mystery Machine when the witches unleashed mechanical bats that grabbed for the book. Thanks to the power of hypnotic suggestion they were able to get the books away from Scooby, and the Brewsky sisters turned on a projection showing themselves flying away on broomsticks.

The actresses' part in the production was over. The next stage would be done by hypnotic illusions alone. The group flew to Egypt to try to stop the witches from getting the cobra rattles. Flim-Flam suggested another foolproof disguise, with him as a sheik and the others as harem girls.

"Like, you look cute in that skimpy outfit," Shaggy said.

"You look cute yourself," said Daphne, "But it'll never fool the witches."

She was right. In rapid succession the scene changed to Nome, Alaska and then to Paris, as the witches seemed to use spells to bring what they needed to themselves. An attempt to trick them into posing for a painting in the sewers of Paris only worked for a moment, and then they had to flee the witches' magic.

They flew from the piece of Paris in Egypt to Stonehenge, in a last effort to stop the spell. They disguised themselves as rival witches, but Marcella showed up to expose their disguises. Flim-Flam grabbed the book, and tossed it over to Scooby. Then Shaggy stole a flying broom and got Shaggy out of the way before Marcella grabbed him.

Just as things were looking hopeless, Vince showed up again, in the company of a cute (and illusionary) creature named Idzvick. Vince switched the spell in the book so Marcella got trapped back in the Chest of Demons instead of being freed as she expected when the witches read the spell.

In the end, the witches seemed reconciled to not getting to be the most powerful in the world. When Scooby and the others did the witch victory dance, the Brewsky sisters even joined in: "We are witches of the night! We're so hot we're out of sight. Sssss! Cooking! Nah-nah nah nah nah, na na nah nah nana nah."

Vince didn't join in the dance, but he did secretly congratulate himself. The plane trip to Egypt had allowed another profitable smuggling operation to take place. "It's fortunate the kids are so gullible, and that they don't know much about the Three Stooges. Nyuck yuck yuck!" thought Vince.


	10. Kwackyland

**Chapter 10 – Kwackyland**

Early in the morning Flim-Flam went to talk to Vince. "Mr. V, you've overstayed your welcome, and it's risking the plan."

"What do you mean?" asked Vince.

"It was fun to pretend you needed your castle re-cobwebbed and had to stay here, but enough is enough. It's been a solid week."

"You've been living here from the beginning of the scam, in the lap of luxury, and they haven't minded you," said Vince.

"But I haven't been making them wait on me hand and foot," said Flim-Flam. "Now they're starting to call you the thing that won't leave."

"I have to admit I've gotten the taste for the easy life," said Vince. "But I have a plan. I'll trick these rich kids out of a cash flow that will set me – I mean us – up for life."

"Better do it soon," said Flim-Flam.

"This morning, when the Sunday paper arrives," said Vince.

The plan turned out to be an intense hypnotic session, in which the gang was trapped in the world of the funny papers by Demondo, a big green demon. They met Platypus Duck, the Wacky Wizard, and Astrid 2000, among others.

In the end, they escaped the comic world and trapped Demondo in the Chest of Demons before he could exit the comic. For a moment they were worried that their friends, the good comic characters, were also trapped. Then Platypus Duck, his kangaroo waitress, the koala bear customer, the Wacky Wizard, and Astrid 2000 all appeared

Platypus Duck said, in his odd rhyming style, "That's right, Scooby, we saved the day. And since you're asking, we're here to stay. You're one great doggie, I'm telling you. Quack, quack, quack..."

"I'm Scooby-Doo!" said Scooby, finishing for him.

"But, how will you live in this world?" Vince asked them. "You don't have jobs or identities here."

"I could use assistance with that," said Astrid 2000. "My starcraft-piloting skills won't help me get a job."

"Likewise, quack," said Platypus Duck. "I need funding to start a diner."

"My powers don't work outside the comics, I'm afraid," the Wacky Wizard said.

"Don't worry," Daphne said. "We got you into this, so we'll take responsibility. Shaggy and I have large allowances, and we can keep up payments to help you."

"We could, like, hock some things around here we don't really need, too," Shaggy said.

"Excellent," said Vince. "I'll manage the distribution of the funds. Just send it to my Swiss bank account and I'll make sure the displaced comic-strip characters have everything they require."

"Sounds good, Vince," said Flim-Flam.

"As for me, I think I've overstayed my welcome," Vince said. "My castle should be ready now, so I'll be heading back home."

"Good," said Shaggy. "I mean, like, we like you and you're welcome, but..."

"You'll be happier back in your own place," said Daphne.

"I certainly will," said Vince. "And I'll take the displaced characters to stay with me until I can get them all settled."

"Bye, Ratypus Ruck," said Scooby, waving as they all disappeared.


	11. SAPS

**Chapter 11 - SAPS**

Vince called Flim-Flam. "I've got a new deal lined up. There's a guy in Pasedena who wants to use their plane for a few days. The rule waivers that come with the plane will make smuggling easy."

"How do we get them to fly there? Pasedena's not that far from Crystal Cove," said Flim-Flam.

"That's easy. We get them to hunt for ghosts from the air with a spook detector, and then say there's a big concentration of ghosts in Pasedena," said Vince.

"Why would ghosts be there?" asked Flim-Flam.

"I don't know, say a spook convention. The Spook and Poltergeist Society," Vince.

"That's SAPS," said Flim-Flam.

"I know. It's a little in-joke. Daphne, Shaggy, and Scooby have certainly been saps to fall for this nonsense," said Vince.

"We're pushing the credibility here. But anyway, what happens in Pasedena? Are you going to stage a whole ghost convention?" asked Flim-Flam.

"No, because we'll decoy them away from there with an emergency. I'll accidentally get a slow-acting curse that is turning me to stone. They'll have to make a run for the east coast for the cure," said Vince.

"They'll want to use their plane," said Flim-Flam.

"No, because they'll have a run-in with two fake FBI agents first, which will cause them to have to abandon both their car and their plane. We'll get a stunt pilot to fly them east, with some appropriately scary adventures along the way," said Vince.

"Sounds do-able," said Flim-Flam. "Any other twists I should know about?"

"We'll handcuff Scooby and Shaggy to two stupid ghosts, that is, make them believe they're handcuffed to two stupid ghosts, by hypnosis. That will keep them occupied so they won't cause any extra complications."

"Oh brother," said Flim-Flam. "That's already extra complications."

"I know you can do it. I'll be out of the picture, slowly turning to stone. You'll have to do the hypnotic suggestions. But you're an expert at that by now."

"So I am," said Flim-Flam.

The plan went off perfectly. The gang was left in Salem, Massachusetts without their car or plane, but happy to have captured Rankor the vampire in the Chest of Demons, and to have saved Van Ghoul from the curse of the Eye of Eternity.

"What do we do now?" asked Daphne.

"We get hotel rooms for the day, and then plan our trip back," said Shaggy, giving her hand a gentle squeeze.

"I have an idea," said Scooby. "We could go back by rain."

"Rain?" asked Daphne.

"He means train," said Shaggy, who was an expert interpreter for Scooby-talk.

"On the way back we could visit Dooville," said Scooby. "See Mumsy and Dada Doo."

"Great idea, Uncle Scooby," said Scrappy. "I wanna see my grandparents again."

"It'll be a nice break from ghosts, too," said Shaggy.

He was wrong about that, of course.


	12. Free Circus

**Chapter 12 – Free Circus**

"I don't like it," said Vince. "Why do they have to go to Dooville?"

"Scrappy wants to, and you know how hard it is to say no to him," said Flim-Flam.

"It's risky," said Vince. "Scooby has friends there, and if they ask him what he's been doing they could start asking detailed questions. Some of them might be smart enough to see through our plot."

"What are you going to do? You can't hypnotize the whole town," said Flim-Flam.

"Or can I?" said Vince thoughtfully.

"Even you're not that good," said Flim-Flam.

"We don't have to really do it, just give that impression to the parties that matter," said Vince. "Here's what we'll need to do..."

* * *

><p>The next day, as the gang traveled on the train, Flim-Flam put them under hypnosis and got them to disembark from the train one station early, convinced they had arrived in Dooville.<p>

"Like, where's the welcoming party?" Shaggy asked.

"Reah," said Scooby.

"I hear calliope music," said Flim-Flam. "There must be a circus in town. We should check and see if they're there."

Under his hypnotic suggestion they heard it, too. From there it was routine. He convinced them that a free circus had come to town and that everyone had gone to it. As they got more decoupled from reality he got them to think the circus was run by another escaped ghost, Professor Phantasmo, and that he had the evil intent of stealing the souls of everyone in town. Finally Flim-Flam convinced them that he himself had fallen under Phantasmo's control, and got Daphne to believe that she had, too. Finally they managed to break the calliope, end Phantasmo's grip on the town, and trap him in the Chest of Demons.

Under the guise of moving the house of Dada Doo and Mumsy Doo back to where it belonged (since Professor Phantasmo had transported it to the circus grounds using balloons), Flim-Flam got them to walk to the real house location. As they did, he called Vince again.

"Everything went fine on this end," Vince said. "I found the Doos are just as gullible as their son, and I got them to believe in the free circus, too. Now tell me the details of the story on your end so I can get their memories to synch up."

"What about the rest of the town? Won't they be suspicious that nobody else remembers the circus?" asked Flim-Flam.

"It will be one of the mysteries of the magic of Professor Phantasmo that nobody else remembers," said Vince. "But just in case, convince them it would be better not to talk about what happened, or about the thirteen ghosts at all, with anyone in town, so as to avoid a panic."

The real visit with the relatives went smoothly. Convinced they should keep to themselves, the whole group remained inside the Doo house.

"I'm glad to see you found yourself a nice girl, Shaggy," Dada Doo told him privately. "I think she's a keeper."

"Like, she's the best," Shaggy said. "I don't know what I'd do without her."

Later that night, Vince and Flim-Flam spoke again by phone.

"This was pretty messy, taking them across the country like we did," said Flim-Flam.

"We'll make a nice profit from the people that used their plane while they were gone," said Vince.

"We're almost out of ghosts, " Flim-Flam said. "We've done eleven of thirteen. Do you have a big score planned for the finale?"

"Better than that," said Vince. "We can keep this going much longer. I know a guy..."


	13. Believe It Or Else

**Chapter 13 – Believe It Or Else**

The gang was standing on stage with Boris Kreepoff, host of "Believe It Or Else," a show that was taped locally and broadcast nationally, or so they were lead to believe. On stage with them was another guest, horoscope writer Tallulah.

"Long time no see, Vincent," said Boris.

"Yes, Boris, we have much to talk about," said Vince.

"There'll be plenty of time to talk later, or else..." said Boris.

"We've brought a magical artifact, the Chest of Demons, in order to trap a ghost during your show," Vince said. He set the object down on the floor so the camera could zoom in on it.

"Amazing. So amazing I can hardly believe it myself," said Boris.

At that moment two things happened. The lights went out and those standing on stage fell through a trapdoor to land on mats placed below. As quick as they could they all rushed back up to the empty stage.

"The Chest of Demons! It's gone," said Daphne.

"This is a catastrophe," said Vince. "If that chest falls into the wrong hands they could unleash horrendous demons upon the earth again. You didn't have anything to do with this, did you, Boris?"

"My oldest and dearest friend, you cut me to the quick," said Boris. He turned and stalked out of the room.

"Gee Mr. Van Ghoul, I didn't know you and Mr. Kreepoff were old friends," said Scrappy.

"We went to school together," said Vince. "Terror Tech, class of 36."

"1936?" asked Flim-Flam.

"No, just 36," said Vince. "Now everyone, we must deal with this debacle. I will return to my castle, while you check around here."

After Vince left, they quickly found the box of Scooby Snacks that Daphne had promised as a reward for Scooby and Shaggy for getting through the show in spite of their jitters.

"I left this backstage," Daphne said. "How did it get out here?"

"Like, maybe the ghost got hungry?" asked Shaggy.

"I feel powerful spirit vibrations coming from the box," said Tallulah. "You must let me hold a séance to get to the bottom of this."

"Like, sure, if you let me hold the box to get to the bottom of it," said Shaggy.

But Flim-Flam nabbed the box as evidence, and they took it to Tallulah's home where she could do a tarot-card reading on top of it.

"The Chest of Demons is at a lighthouse. It was taken there by an evil spirit. But be careful. This evil spirit is extra-powerful," Tallulah said.

"That must be the lighthouse on Lookout Point," said Daphne.

They drove there in the Mystery Machine and Shaggy and Scooby spoke to two odd-looking caretakers (who were only hypnotic illusions). Likewise their experience of being locked in the lighthouse, and it toppling over to dump them in the water was done by illusion.

They returned to Tallulah and demanded to know if she had told anyone where they were going.

"I found a listening device in my séance room," she said. "The spirit must have listened in, moved the Chest, and set a trap for you. I have deactivated it now, so we can try again."

She directed them to the cemetery, into another trap, this time with illusionary zombies. After they tricked the zombies away, Flim-Flam showed them an envelope with tickets to "Believe It Or Else."

"Like, I bet that creep Kreepoff is behind this," said Shaggy.

In the back of Kreepoff's house they found three things: a map of the floor plan of the temple where the Chest of Demons had been found, a used airline ticket to Tibet, and a book entitled "The Grand Tome of the Chest of Demons."

"Now we need to find some clues," said Shaggy.

"Shaggy darling, these are clues," said Daphne. "It looks like Mr. Kreepoff flew to Tibet and stole this book from Mr. Van Ghoul."

"I have even more evidence," said Vince, appearing from the doorway. "This TV guide says Kreepoff plans to open the Chest of Demons on national television, tonight. Even worse, tonight is the Winter Solstice, and whoever opens the chest, in addition to releasing the ghosts, will get all the power in the universe!"

"We've got to stop him!" Scrappy said. "Come on!"

They rushed in the Mystery Machine to the studio, with Shaggy driving and Daphne making urgent texts on her cell-phone. They arrived to find Kreepoff about to open the Chest.

"Don't do it, Boris," Vince warned. "You'll unleash havoc on the earth!"

"Hideous demons will be set free to take over the world," Daphne said.

"I don't believe you; besides I'll finally be able to get back at you, Vincent, for humiliating me back at Terror Tech," said Boris

"That's not true," Vince said.

"You were always more popular with the ghouls," Boris said.

"Can I help it if I'm irresistible?" Vincent said with a smug smile.

"Can we get on with the show?" the director called from the sidelines.

"What a show it will be, for when I open the Chest it will give me all the power in the universe, or else..." said Boris.

Vince muttered a hypnotic trigger phrase, and the gang saw an illusion of Tallulah walk in.

"Correction, foolish mortals, the power will be mine," said Tallulah. "For I am no mere medium, but in reality Zimbulu, the lion demon."

"You're a lying demon alright!" Scrappy said angrily.

In their minds, the illusionary Tallulah disappeared and was replaced by a fearsome demon with a lion's mane. He directed two other ghosts to grab Boris, who moved back as if pulled from the Chest.

"Now I will be unstoppable!" said Zimbulu, opening the chest. Ghosts flew out and hovered above his head.

"All is lost!" said Vince.

But Flim-Flam was ready with the Vaccu-Spook. It sucked up all the ghosts, and he dropped it into the Chest of Demons and closed the lid.

"Flim-Flam, you saved the day!" said Daphne.

Daphne discovered how the Chest had been stolen. Boris had used a switch that rotated the stage while they were down below the trapdoor.

"I betrayed a friend. Oh, the shame of it all," said Boris. "How can I repay you for the trouble I caused?"

Scooby said, "I dunno." He was just happy the world hadn't ended.

"And why am I asking a dog?" said Boris.

The director was happy the whole thing was on tape, until he discovered that Scooby and Shaggy had recorded over it with a "Hi Mom" message.

"Our heros once again have foiled the schemes of ghosts and men," said Vince. "Thanks to the brave adventurers led by..."

"Scooby-Dooby-Dooo!" said Scooby happily.

From the side of the stage came another voice. "I've seen enough. Your show is officially canceled."

"Huh? What? Who are you?" asked Flim-Flam in surprise.

"Sheriff Bronson Stone," said the man, stepping onto the stage. "I'm putting you under arrest for fraud, you and the Van Ghoul impersonator, too."

"But how did you know about any of this? Not that I'm admitting anything," said Vince.

"The young lady tipped me off," said the Sheriff.

"That's right," Daphne said. "I texted for the police, and I've been playing along until they got here."


	14. Aftermath

**Chapter 14 - Aftermath**

Shaggy and Daphne were sitting at the coffee bar of the Crystal Cove Spook Museum, drinking lattes and going over again what had gone wrong. Scooby-Doo was resting at their feet.

"Like, what finally tipped you off, Daph?" Shaggy asked.

"Vince, or maybe I should call him Sid Slocum now, got sloppy with his lies. In the beginning he told us he was the real Vincent Van Ghoul, and that he'd learned the occult by preparing for his horror movies. Later he built himself up more and more as the world's most powerful warlock, and he got carried away."

"Like, how?" asked Shaggy.

"He said he was in the class of 34, like he was hundreds of years old. He forget that the real Van Ghoul is a celebrity with a known history," said Daphne.

"Well, being a movie star could have been a cover identity for him. A powerful warlock might be able to get away with that," said Shaggy.

"Right," said Daphne. "I wasn't positive, but my suspicions were up. Then he said it was the winter solstice. This all started with a summer trip to Hawaii, and it hasn't been that long. It wasn't even the summer solstice."

"Well, you were right. Flim-Flam and 'Van Ghoul' turned out to be complete frauds," said Shaggy. "They even robbed jewels out of our family safe. My folks just got home and discovered they were missing. As for Scrappy, there's no proof, but..."

"I think he was in on it," Daphne said. "The trip was planned at the last minute. How did the crooks know we'd be at the airport, and that we had our own plane instead of taking a regular commercial flight? Scrappy's 'puppy instincts' got us to start trusting Flim-Flam and trying that 'luck juice'."

"When I rent to the ruture, he wasn't older," said Scooby. "Rust like Flim-Flam."

"Yeah, I get it, Scoob. Like, you saw the future if Time Slime won. Ten years from now, you told us. Both Daphne and I looked older, right? Because we were just illusions," said Shaggy.

"But Scrappy and Flim-Flam looked the same age as now, because they were both playing their own parts," said Daphne.

"Rhy would he do it?" asked Scooby.

"Jealousy of your fame as a ghost-buster, maybe," said Shaggy. "He always had something to prove about how tough he was."

"What happened to Scrappy?" Daphne asked.

"My parents decided we weren't going to puppy-sit him any more. They found a nice farm for him to live on for the rest of the summer," said Shaggy.

"I guess we won't see him again," said Daphne.

She was wrong about that. Scrappy was preparing a terrible new betrayal in revenge for being dumped. But that's another story.

Mrs. Dinkley came in, wheeling a covered figure in on a dolly.

"Look at what I just got," she told the kids, and unveiled a wax statue of Flim-Flam. Both Daphne and Shaggy gave a jump of surprise.

"W-what? Like, why?" Shaggy asked.

"I interviewed this young man in jail," said Mrs. Dinkley. "He had quite a story to tell. He single-handedly saved the world from thirteen ghosts. It will be a great new attraction for the tourists."

"But he's under arrest for fraud," Daphne said. "How can you believe him?'

"I don't, entirely," admitted Mrs. Dinkley. "But it's the drama that matters. His lawyers have asked for a new venue for the trial, so any deception won't be exposed here. They're going to get him tried as an adult. He could get 25 years to life."

"So he, like, says he saved the world all by himself?" Shaggy asked.

"Well, he had the help of a very brave little puppy, named Scrappy," said Mrs. Dinkley. "I've ordered a wax statue for him, too."

Shaggy and Daphne both pushed their lattes away, feeling sick. Mrs. Dinkley didn't notice. She wheeled her new exhibit into the display room to start setting it up.

Daphne said, "I feel so stupid, and used. Flim-Flam and Sid had us drugged and hypnotized all that time, doing whatever crimes they wanted while took them around the world."

"Like, I know what you mean," Shaggy said.

"Didn't you ever catch on, even a little?" Daphne asked. "Now that I look back, some of the things that happened were so dumb, like getting lost flying to Hawaii and ending up in Tibet."

"Well, like, I did wonder a few times, but... things were going so well with us..." Shaggy said.

"You mean, you could have gotten us out of all that sooner, but you didn't because as long as we were ghost hunting you had a love life?" Daphne said, her expression turning dangerous.

"It wasn't like that," Shaggy said.

"I think it was exactly like that. You always go along to get along, go for comfort rather than the truth. Freddie's not like that. If he found out someone he trusted had been lying to him he wouldn't rest until he got to the bottom of it, whatever the consequences. He's strong that way."

"But... what's between us is real," Shaggy said. "You know that, even if we got together because of a scam."

"It doesn't feel that real to me any more. I'm sorry, Shaggy. I'm going back to Freddie."

"No! Like, please!"

"Please don't tell Fred about what happened between us," Daphne said.

"Daph, all he cares about is traps. He'll break your heart. And when he does, I'll be here for you," Shaggy said.

"No, I want you to move on, don't wait for me to change my mind," Daphne said. "You'll find someone else."

"Like, I don't think I ever will," said Shaggy.

* * *

><p>Later, flopped miserably on the bed in his room with Scooby after a huge consolation snack, Shaggy said, "I don't know about chicks, Scoob. Like, I think I've had it with them."<p>

"Rou said it," said Scooby. "Rit's just us ruddies."

"Though, you know, Velma's dropped a few hints that she might be interested..."

"NO! Not Relma. Not on a rebound. You'll get rurt, she'll get rurt."

"Just an idea," Shaggy said.

"Romise me no. Not Relma," said Scooby.

"All right, I promise," said Shaggy.

"No cheating on your romise with me?" asked Scooby.

"No cheating," said Shaggy. But the seed was planted in his mind...

THE END


End file.
